Theory-based scaling laws of near and far scrape-off layer widths in single-null L-mode discharges

Theory-based scaling laws of the near and far scrape-off layer (SOL) widths are analytically derived for L-mode diverted tokamak discharges by using a two-fluid model. The near SOL pressure and density decay lengths are obtained by leveraging a balance among the power source, perpendicular turbulent transport across the separatrix, and parallel losses at the vessel wall, while the far SOL pressure and density decay lengths are derived by using a model of intermittent transport mediated by filaments. The analytical estimates of the pressure decay length in the near SOL is then compared to the results of three-dimensional, flux-driven, global, two-fluid turbulence simulations of L-mode diverted tokamak plasmas, and validated against experimental measurements taken from an experimental multi-machine database of divertor heat flux profiles, showing in both cases a very good agreement. Analogously, the theoretical scaling law for the pressure decay length in the far SOL is compared to simulation results and to experimental measurements in TCV L-mode discharges, pointing out the need of a large multi-machine database for the far SOL decay lengths

Prevalences of primary headache symptoms at school-entry: a population-based epidemiological survey of preschool children in Germany

Primary headache and functional abdominal pain prevalences in an unselected populationbased sample of German preschool children and their parents (n=885) were collected in relation to health-related quality of life and sociodemographic variables. The pain symptoms were assessed according to IHS classification (2004) and Rome-II criteria (1999) during the 2004 data census. The participation rate was 62.7%, with an equal gender distribution. The focus of this paper lies on the symptom-oriented point prevalences for primary headaches of preschool children: 3.6% headache, 33.2% abdominal pain, 48.8% headache+abdominal pain and 14.4% without pain. High comorbidities for pain-affected children have been found. Pain intensities differ significantly only for abdominal pain (one-way ANOVA F=3,339, df=4/445, p=0.010*), not for headaches. However, recurrent headaches show a striking ratio in favour of boys (10:1). Children at preschool age have high quality-of-life measures, already influenced negatively by paediatric pain experiences (one-way ANOVA: F=9,193, df=4/546, p=0.000**). Headache and abdominal pain are relevant for children’s everyday life; hence, simultaneous and prospective assessment is an essential issue in public health research

Cave deposits as a sedimentary trap for the Marine Isotope Stage 3 environmental record: The case study of Pod Hradem, Czech Republic

Pod Hradem Cave, located in the Moravian Karst, Czech Republic, offers an excellent opportunity for environmental reconstructions of Marine Isotope Stage 3 (MIS 3) in Central Europe due to its detailed sedimentary record dated 50,000 to 28,000 cal BP. Identifying the natural environments of the Middle to Upper Palaeolithic (MUP) transition is necessary to understand the settlement strategies and related behaviour of both Neanderthals and Anatomically Modern Humans, both of whom may have occupied the region at the same time. A multidisciplinary excavation was carried out between 2011 and 2016. Detailed analyses of the sediments, vertebrate microfauna, pollen and charcoal revealed minor but observable fluctuations in climate, with little change in the surrounding vegetation. The Pod Hradem palaeoenvironmental dataset is complex, but generally reflects a predominantly glacial climate with a range of vegetation types and habitats during the Late Pleistocene, followed by the warmer and more humid Holocene. The MUP transition as recorded in Pod Hradem Cave was a glacial environment interrupted by two relatively warmer periods. Central Europe experienced extreme climate fluctuations during MIS3, as recorded from different sedimentary archives, but it seems that the Pod Hradem Cave environment may have acted as a buffer zone, ameliorating those extremes, and providing a suitable refuge for both bears seeking winter hibernation dens and occasionally visiting humans.Thisproject was funded from the SoMoPro programme. Research leading tothese results has received a financial contribution from the EuropeanCommunity within the Seventh Framework Programme (FP/2007–2013) under Grant Agreement No. 229603. The research was alsoco-financed by the South Moravian Region and the Department ofAnthropology & Department of Geological Sciences (departmentalfunding - Masaryk University) and the internal programme of theInstitute of Geology CAS in Prague No. RVO 67985831

Pennsylvanian-Early Triassic stratigraphy in the Alborz Mountains (Iran)

New fieldwork was carried out in the central and eastern Alborz, addressing the sedimentary succession from the Pennsylvanian to the Early Triassic. A regional synthesis is proposed, based on sedimentary analysis and a wide collection of new palaeontological data. The Moscovian Qezelqaleh Formation, deposited in a mixed coastal marine and alluvial setting, is present in a restricted area of the eastern Alborz, transgressing on the Lower Carboniferous Mobarak and Dozdehband formations. The late Gzhelian–early Sakmarian Dorud Group is instead distributed over most of the studied area, being absent only in a narrow belt to the SE. The Dorud Group is typically tripartite, with a terrigenous unit in the lower part (Toyeh Formation), a carbonate intermediate part (Emarat and Ghosnavi formations, the former particularly rich in fusulinids), and a terrigenous upper unit (Shah Zeid Formation), which however seems to be confined to the central Alborz. A major gap in sedimentation occurred before the deposition of the overlying Ruteh Limestone, a thick package of packstone–wackestone interpreted as a carbonate ramp of Middle Permian age (Wordian–Capitanian). The Ruteh Limestone is absent in the eastern part of the range, and everywhere ends with an emersion surface, that may be karstified or covered by a lateritic soil. The Late Permian transgression was directed southwards in the central Alborz, where marine facies (Nesen Formation) are more common. Time-equivalent alluvial fans with marsh intercalations and lateritic soils (Qeshlaq Formation) are present in the east. Towards the end of the Permian most of the Alborz emerged, the marine facies being restricted to a small area on the Caspian side of the central Alborz. There, the Permo-Triassic boundary interval is somewhat similar to the Abadeh–Shahreza belt in central Iran, and contains oolites, flat microbialites and domal stromatolites, forming the base of the Elikah Formation. The P–T boundary is established on the basis of conodonts, small foraminifera and stable isotope data. The development of the lower and middle part of the Elikah Formation, still Early Triassic in age, contains vermicular bioturbated mudstone/wackestone, and anachronostic-facies-like gastropod oolites and flat pebble conglomerates. Three major factors control the sedimentary evolution. The succession is in phase with global sea-level curve in the Moscovian and from the Middle Permian upwards. It is out of phase around the Carboniferous–Permian boundary, when the Dorud Group was deposited during a global lowstand of sealevel. When the global deglaciation started in the Sakmarian, sedimentation stopped in the Alborz and the area emerged. Therefore, there is a consistent geodynamic control. From the Middle Permian upwards, passive margin conditions control the sedimentary evolution of the basin, which had its depocentre(s) to the north. Climate also had a significant role, as the Alborz drifted quickly northwards with other central Iran blocks towards the Turan active margin. It passed from a southern latitude through the aridity belt in the Middle Permian, across the equatorial humid belt in the Late Permian and reached the northern arid tropical belt in the Triassic

New insights regarding the incidence, presentation and treatment options of aorto-oesophageal fistulation after thoracic endovascular aortic repair: the European Registry of Endovascular Aortic Repair Complications

OBJECTIVES: To review the incidence, clinical presentation, definite management and 1-year outcome in patients with aorto-oesophageal fistulation (AOF) following thoracic endovascular aortic repair (TEVAR). METHODS: International multicentre registry (European Registry of Endovascular Aortic Repair Complications) between 2001 and 2011 with a total caseload of 2387 TEVAR procedures (17 centres). RESULTS: Thirty-six patients with a median age of 69 years (IQR 56-75), 25% females and 9 patients (19%) following previous aortic surgery were identified. The incidence of AOF in the entire cohort after TEVAR in the study period was 1.5%. The primary underlying aortic pathology for TEVAR was atherosclerotic aneurysm formation in 53% of patients and the median time to development of AOF was 90 days (IQR 30-150). Leading clinical symptoms were fever of unknown origin in 29 (81%), haematemesis in 19 (53%) and shock in 8 (22%) patients. Diagnosis could be confirmed via computed tomography in 92% of the cases with the leading sign of a new mediastinal mass in 28 (78%) patients. A conservative approach resulted in a 100% 1-year mortality, and 1-year survival for an oesophageal stenting-only approach was 17%. Survival after isolated oesophagectomy was 43%. The highest 1-year survival rate (46%) could be achieved via an aggressive treatment including radical oesophagectomy and aortic replacement [relative risk increase 1.73 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.03-2.92]. The survival advantage of this aggressive treatment modality could be confirmed in bootstrap analysis (95% CI 1.11-3.33). CONCLUSIONS: The development of AOF is a rare but lethal complication after TEVAR, being associated with the need for emergency TEVAR as well as mediastinal haematoma formation. The only durable and successful approach to cure the disease is radical oesophagectomy and extensive aortic reconstruction. These findings may serve as a decision-making tool for physicians treating these complex patients